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[av_heading heading=’‘Uncooperative’ AMLC forced Ombudsman to end Du30 probe’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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February 17, 2018
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MANILA – An uncooperative Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) left the Office of the Ombudsman with no choice but to terminate its fact-finding investigation on the complaint filed against the President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged ill-gotten wealth.
In a press statement, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales confirmed that the investigation was terminated on Nov. 29, 2017 yet.
AMLC declined to provide a report or confirmation on the data provided by complainant Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, according to Morales.
She, however, clarified that, “By rule, a closed and terminated field investigation is without prejudice to the refiling of a complaint with new or additional evidence.”
“The Ombudsman trusts that in the conduct of fact-finding investigations, efforts are exhausted to gather evidence and to comply with pertinent internal rules,” she added.
Solicitor General Jose Calida said the termination of the probe only showed that the evidence presented by Trillanes were fake.
“Back in October, the Ombudsman publicly claimed that the documents in their possession were from AMLC,” Calida said. “Now the Ombudsman claims that the termination is due to AMLC’s refusal to provide a report or confirmation.”
“Fact-finding investigations, under the rules, are generally confidential but it was them who broadcasted that a probe was being conducted,” he added. “Now that the case is closed and terminated, the Ombudsman kept quiet.”
The complaint, filed by Trillanes before the 2016 elections, originated from Duterte’s alleged anomalous hiring of more than 11,000 contractual workers in 2014 with the city government of Davao spending a total of P708 million.
Trillanes noted that, in the Commission on Audit report, there were no job descriptions but only names of the alleged employees.
The senator believed that the employees were non-existent./PN
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